World Tree MUSH

    (Newly connected Blossom, Earth, 16th century, local area: Italy, City of Rome.)

    Those arriving would meet a rather odd sight. A gathering of townsfolk, a picket-line of uniformed guards and a man stood on a makeshift podium announcing that the area is off-limits by order of the Pope. Some of the townsfolk try to break through the guards, but a gunshot rings out and a man falls with a bleeding gunshot wound to the chest.

    "Anyone attempting to transgress upon this area will be arrested. Anyone resisting arrest will be executed on the spot by sword or gunshot." says the man, shifting his cloak as he steps down and walks off down a side street. There's a general disgruntled air to the crowd, but as a woman and young man drag away the now lifeless body of the shot man, the crowd disperses; obviously not wishing to raise the ire of the guards.

    A young woman remains stationary for a few moments, before she vanishes in the shifting bodies, though those eagle eyed enough would spot her climbing the side of a building and heading in the direction the man in the cloak left in.

    The guards turn when they spot the off-worlders, one man in a very fancy hat with a large red feather approaches. "By order of the Pope, all persons entering by these 'vines' must submit to inspection, and be escorted to Castal Sant'Angelo." Several other guards, all wearing uniforms with a lot of red in them step forward, leaving other guards wearing green in place to keep the locals at bay.

>> SUMMARY[Piera Forta] >> This world is pretty brutal. Places of interest: Castal Sant'Angelo. Man in Cloak. Walkclimbing Woman. Guard in Fancy Hat.

    The first thing to come through the vine is a crumpled up ball of paper...
    Bouncing on the ground in a little tumble it rolls for a few seconds before coming undone and unwrapping from itself. It's pretty rumpled and hard to make out, but it looks like... It looks like an English test, belonging to one Usagi Tsukino. And the grade is... The grade is...

    36

    Better than her last test but still a definite failure, the bad grade is followed by...
    "Wait wait wait come back I didn't mean to throw that through the vine, wwwwwwwaaaaaaa!"
    The flustering blonde that comes rushing into Rome the next minute is flailing.
    "No one saw that right? Right?!" Seh says before chasing after her bad grade like a kid trying to get their runaway pet under control.
    It's the gunshot that stops her dead. Jolting in a sudden and pronounced flinch that brings her to a complete doe-eyed halt where she stands, her test floooooaaaats away, forgotten as she stares at the man felled by the bullet.
    And then the guards turn.
    T"W-wait WHAT?! N-no way I don't wanna be escorted away on papal orderrrrrrrrs!"
    Oh dear.
    Oh dear...
    She is actually crying now.

    This is hardly the kind of welcome Tonbokiri wanted. But it's not altogether unsurprising. Of course, any paranoia of him probably isn't going to be helped by the fact that he stands just over six and a half feet tall, and is quite muscular.

    By the features of his face, he's clearly Asian... though if that wasn't enough, his clothes are also Asian in style. Dark purple hair and gold eyes add to the whole 'this guy is definitely not from around here' picture.

    He also carries a weapon. A spear, to be more precise. It is, however, safely and politely stowed on his back, and the blade of the weapon covered by a purple and black cap. It could almost pass for a completely nonthreatening walking staff. Except it's stowed on his back in a characteristic 'this is a spear' fashion.

    And he's not alone, either! Perched upon his shoulder is a small, fluffy fox with a face that looks like it's been painted to resemble a Japanese fox mask. The light orangey-brown creature with the white face has a collar around its neck, upon which hangs a large golden bell.

    He raises his hands as the guards in red approach, to show he has no intentions of attacking. "I would humbly ask that you leave my weapon where it is," he offers quietly, bowing his head. "To take it would be to take a limb from my body. I say this not as fanciful speech, but in literal fact -- I am bound to this weapon, body and soul. I have no intention of drawing it, save in defense."

    Usagi's screeching has him looking over, too. "It's all right," he offers. "These people only wish to see that those who come through the Vine are no threat to their people." He hopes anyway. It'll do for now, to try and calm the crying girl.

    Emily Nyx has taken the form of an upper-class woman with dark blonde hair in a bun, dressed in period clothing in a style which is almost, but not quite, completely wrong for this time and place. For one thing, it's all made out of expensive silks which make her more like a queen. For another thing, there's the pointy sunglasses, which belong in the twentieth century. She has an amused and faintly smug smile as she regards the crowd, eyebrow raised.

    At the gunshot, her smile vanishes. For two seconds.

    Then it returns. "Well, that wasn't very nice," she remarks. She smirks. "Inspection, huh?" She faces the approaching man in the fabulous hat with the general demeanor of someone who doesn't have the slightest belief that anything bad or even inconvenient can possibly happen to her. She notices the climbing woman, and files her away for future reference, but doesn't comment.

    She does, however, give the spearman a quick "Hey, Tonbokiri!" as she reaches over and casually catches Usagi's test out of the air. "Thirty-six?" she says. "That's thirty-six percent, right? Wow." She makes to hand it back to her, but her face falls at the crying. "Uhhh ..." She gives Tonbokiri a look which can easily be read to mean that she really hopes he'll be able to take care of the crying teenager.

    Fancy Hat quirks a brow at Usagi's screeching. "Then go back through the vine, or be clapped in irons waif. I have no time or patience for the likes of you." He then looks up at Tonbokiri and over at Emily. "So long as you keep your weapon stowed, we have no reason to disarm you; however, any threat of violence from you will be met with utmost force." He turns, a long cloak flowing in his wake as he gestures for the other red guards to form up around the group. One even goes to grab Usagi if she doesn't start moving, one hand on his sword.

    Meanwhile, not far up the street that the man in the cloak left by, a scream can be heard. It's a woman's voice, and soon a small group of townsfolk come running. "Murder, Murder!" they cry as the flee from whatever just happened.

    A few of the green guardsmen, local police most likely, break off to investigate, while the red guards continue escorting the trio of off-worlders.

    Sniff. Sssssssnnnniiiiiff!
    Rubbing at her eyes with her sleeves, Usagi was STARTING to calm down. "... Isn't that the name of one of the Three Great Separs?" She says on hearing 'Tonbokiri'-- who is whom she replies to next: "W-well! I'm totally not a threat! I don't even want to be here, I just came to get my stupid te--...st..." She starts to say, referring to...
    The very same test that Emily snatches out of the air and reads.
    Usagi goes pale and turns to stone as she falls to her knees.
    That test was never supposed to be seen. It was supposed to be burned and never mentioned ever again.
    In an instant she's blubbering all over again.
    "Waaaaahahahaaaaaa! Dad even said he'd buy me my first cellphone if I did good on that ooooonnnneeeeeee!"
    Well it looks like that's not happening now. Sigh.
    She cuts off and rallies fast though. "Whuh, huh, murder? Shouldn't you maybe all go look into that?" She asks of the REALLY intimidating dudes in red approaching.

    Tonbokiri looks up at the call of his name, and offers a smile to Emily. "Greetings," he offers, with a polite bow. He is aware of the horrible grade -- thanks, Emily! -- but offers a smile nonetheless.

    "Do not be discouraged by failures. One failure does not an ultimate defeat make -- it offers an opportunity to succeed!" he encourages. He makes to lay a gentle hand on Usagi's shoulder. He is indeed trying to make her feel better!

    Not to worry, though -- when the guards make to shuffle everyone along, Tonbokiri will stay close to Usagi, if she doesn't run back through the Vine. He's not about to let the guards harass her.

    Though at the cries of 'murder!', Tonbokiri looks to Konnosuke. Quietly, under his breath, he notes, "Go and survey the scene. Bring pictures."

    "Right!" Konnosuke replies. He hops down from Tonbokiri's shoulder and heads after the guards in green.

    Usagi's question draws the Touken Danshi's attention, and he nods. "Indeed. I am Tonbokiri, once wielded by Tadakatsu Honda." He speaks the man's name with palpable pride. A bow to Usagi. "A pleasure to make your acquaintence."

    Emily rolls her eyes. "Yeah," she says, nodding to Tonbokiri. "In fairness, English is kind of a ridiculous language." She shrugs. "Anyway, I'm Emily Nyx. I'm a Eudaemon, a magical shapeshifting robot," she matter-of-factly, handing the test back to Usagi.

    For a brief moment, it has the text "I can get us out if we need it. - Emily Nyx" in glowing white letters right next to her hand. Emily winks, and the words fade away before any of the guards notice.

    She turns back to the guards surrounding them, and ... carefully doesn't react to a little detail she noticed. "Man, this sure is a situation we wandered into," she says wryly as the guards go to investigate the murder. "A real piece of work."

    Konnosuke chases after the guards in green. And would spot a figure in white robes and a white hood with bloodied hands scaling a wall and escaping before the guards notice her. He would also see the Man in the Cloak laying face down in a growing pool of blood, a stab wound clear in his neck.

    Fancy Hat, meanwhile snorts derisively. "That's a job for the local Policia, not for us. Come along, now." he says, striding through the streets, leading the entourage. "We've been having such problems of late. Some groupf of deviants causing trouble, and murdering officials in broad daylight. Truly disipicable."

    The guards surrounding the group are stonefaced, though there's an air of malice about them all. Like they're on a hair trigger.

    "... But you're a person not a spear." Granted Tonbokiri HAS a spear, but that's very different from BEING a spear. At least in Usagi's mind anyway as she stares blankly for a good long moment.
    Emily hands her test back over.
    On pure REFLEX, Usagi crumples it up again. But she manages to refrain from just tossing it over her shoulder and belting some random passerby in the face with it, this time.
    Sorry Josuke.
    Oh right introductions. Those are a thing and they are generally polite seeing as how Tonbokiri and Emily have given their names.
    "A-ah! Usagi. Tsukino Usagi." She manages to give out while under the duress of the moment. But it looks like it's too late to go back now isn't it. "U-uuuuuhhhhh."
    Murders are one thing, but these guards are really acting...
    Super creepo.
    "... I wanna go home now. Can I go home now? I'll go straight home and won't even look back!"

    Emily's words about English being a ridiculous language... get a snort from Tonbokiri. One of those 'I want to laugh but I'm trying really hard not to' snorts. Composing himself, he notes, "All the more reason to strive to succeed! Do not give it the pleasure of your defeat!" Yeah, he's definitely trying to encourage Usagi!

    Meanwhile Konnosuke turns his camera-gaze up, looking for that figure in white again. He may lose track of the figure, but he will take good note of the scene, casting his gaze around it slowly, impassively. The fox is actually a sapient computer, you see... so everything he sees can be recalled later with a ring of the bell around his neck.

    Tonbokiri will go quietly with the guards in red. "Ah, I see... you are guards of a nation, they are guards of a city, then?" he inquires. It's partly to get information, and partly small talk to try to set them at ease -- nervous guards with guns are much more dangerous to be within shooting distance of than ones who are less so.

    Also, his prattle may serve as a distraction, if someone else wishes to intervene...

    Usagi expresses a desire to leave. That... may be best, if she's not able to defend herself. And he doesn't want to see her shot. However... "The guards may not allow you to leave just yet, since you will have no escort back to the Vine. I will keep you safe, if you like, until we are able to move find the Vine again," he offers.

    Emily whistles, and her walking just happens to position herself in front of Usagi and Tonbokiri as she follows the guards. "Sounds like you've got some bad guys to worry about, son!" she says, gesturing grandiosely. "... Unless you're the bad guys, in which case, uh. Jury's out. But I'm not really feelin' anything 'bad' from you just yet."

    ... Is she trying to get a rise out of them, or is she just that bad at polite conversation with armed law enforcement who are trying to take her somewhere? Accidentally working against Tonbokiri there.

    Tiny holograms briefly appear in front of Tonbokiri and Usagi's faces: "We're being followed. - Emily"

    Fancy Hat laughs. It isn't a pleasant sound while the view of the Castal from the Vine is, getting further away? If they're going to Sant'Angelo, they're taking a very long route about it. "You could call us the protectors of all humanity." he remarks offhandedly, glancing over his shoulder at the group. "Come come, I can't spare the troops to babysit a crying child right now."

    The rest of the guards only really get more tense, some resting their hands on the hilts of their swords, a couple carrying long rifles tightening their grips just slightly.

    That's when a whistling sound, and the distant cry of a hawk sounds from above, and the white-robed figure lands on Fancy Hat. Her left hand splayed palm down against his cheek as a spray of blood erupts from his neck. "Kill the others, Quickly. They are going to kill you!" the figure says in a woman's voice. She whips a knife from a little bandolier on her shoulder at one of the gunmen, jamming it into his neck and knocking him down.

    The remaining guards all draw weapons, but instead of going for the white robed figure, they all converge on the trio in their midst, swinging blades, or aiming the rifle as they back away.

>> SUMMARY[Piera Forta] >> Assassinate the Guard Captain[x]... Protect the Offworlders[ ]

    'The protectors of all humanity?' That sounds kind of ominous.
    "Weh... I'm not even Catholic, is that a bad thing?" Usagi asks, voice tiny and meek as the guards only grow more tense. Then she starts flailing. "Is-nay on ant... ant-uh... antagonizing-ay the ary-scay uys-gay!" She says to Emily, huddling just a liiittle bit closer to Tonbokiri when he says he'll keep her safe. That's all well and good and all until White Robe comes down on Fancy Hat and sends arterial spray everyhere and says the guards are going to kill them.
    Nope.
    Nope nope nope.
    Usagi Tsukino is having none of this as she-- busts past the guards in her way and runs screaming back for the Vine!
    Wow that girl is fast.
    But then. Then Usagi's conscience gets the better of her.
    "W-weh... I can't just leave them like that, what if they get hurt?" That would bother her for like eeeeeevuuuuuurrr as she skids to a halt... And ducks into a nearby alley.

    "Moon... Prism Power... MAKE UP!"

    With a flash of light and a flare of bright pink hearts and stars a hero is born!
    A hero who emerges moments later on the roof of a nearby building.
    "How DARE you take advantage of the curiosity of offworlders to try and lead them to their deaths! In the name of the Moon, I, Sailor Moon will punish you!" She declares as she... Realizes she's kind of high up.
    "J-just gimme a sec to get back down there!" She says, starting to clamber down and--
    Sailor Moon does not trip on her own boots. She takes a graceful and dramatic leap off her perch! An eagle cries out. Dramatic ominous music plays as she-
    "AWAWAWAWA!"
    Lands clinging to a flagpole for dear life, legs kicks and flailing before she loses her grip and comes down, landing boots-first on a guard's head.

>> SUMMARY[Usagi Tsukino] >> ... High profile assassination...???????

    Fortunately Tonbokiri is accustomed to holograms, seeing as that's how Konnosuke brings back reports and all. If he catches' Emily's gaze, he'll nod once -- he definitely saw the sign.

    And that's not to say Konnosuke didn't notice where they were going. Returning to the scene, he notes, "...The Castel Sant'Angelo is the other way."

    Tonbokiri narrows his eyes, his gaze moving from Konnosuke to the guards in red. "...'Protectors of humanity', hm? You believe us a threat to humanity?"

    Looking at the Touken Danshi, Konnosuke starts to comment, "Tonbokiri, I think we should--"

    Suddenly a white-robed figure descends on the guard captain. "That's the one who left the murder scene!" Konnosuke cries out.

    But, see. These red-garbed guards almost had an ally in Tonbokiri. A white-robed figure at the scene of a murder, probably the perpetrator, now descending on the guards here? It's a classic case of 'protect the guards'.

    ...Right up until the guards start swinging at THEM, rather than the figure in white!

    A sword comes swinging in his direction, and Tonbokiri doesn't move to avoid it. No, he raises a hand... and grasps the blade. The blade does not seem to cut into his hand, either... and the wielder will not be able to pull it free.

    "You make a foolish mistake," Tonbokiri growls. He places more pressure on the blade in his hand... and it begins to give, the metal clearly losing its fight with his greater strength. But of course now it's also starting to cut into his hand -- only now.

    In the next instant, Tonbokiri has pulled the spear from his back, the cap flying off where the small fox leaps to grab it from the air. With a cry, Tonbokiri thrusts the blade forward, at the sword-swinging guard. Who will probably end up perforated, since Tonbokiri holds the blade of the sword and there wasn't much chance for the poor bastich to get out of range.

    Of course he lets the skewered soldier fall, releasing the blade. "You make an enemy of Tonbokiri, one of the Three Great Spears of Japan -- we are called that for a reason!" he declares. The blade on the end of that spear is indeed Tonbokiri, marked as it's known to be with the Sanskrit characters that have meanings in Japanese Buddhism -- 'earth', 'pure light', and 'mercy'.

    Though it's likely there won't be much of the last one shown by the Touken Danshi...

    Of course, all his bluster is for a reason. It's to keep the attention off of Usagi! If he seems like the greater threat, the guards will prioritize taking him down, and give her the chance to escape. A chance that she seems to take, thankfully! It'll take them getting through him to give chase. And that's not happening while he's still standing.

    And then a moment later... someone else enters the fray! In a very inelegant way, yes, but she's helping! And she has a sense of justice! "Take care, I'm certain their heads are quite hard. Not a pleasant place to land," he quips to Sailor Moon.

    Emily looks sidelong at Usagi. "Really?" she says. She shrugs. "No promises."

    She frowns when Konnosuke arrives and drops that revelation. "I didn't even notice," she says, putting her hands on her hips and turning to face the pointy hat guy. "So ... you are the bad guys, after -- huh?"

    At first, Emily seems to have a complete non-reaction to the sudden assassination. "You have the most hilarious timing," she tells the assassin dryly, taking off her sunglasses to reveal glowing purple eyes -- trying to assist Tonbokiri in distracting everyone from poor defenseless Usagi. "Tonbokiri, I like the you think, you're hired. Releasing capacitor seal three!"

    She's surrounded by three distinct auras: one silver, one gold, and one pearlescent. The first one shatters, and the other two fade, and an a swirl of silvery glitter, her clothing is replaced by an elaborate red and black ballgown, wisps of (suspiciously grainy or particle-y) shadow gathering around her ankles. A spear materializes in her hand which seems to be weirdly flexible, and which otherwise bears a suspicious resemblance to Tonbokiri's own spear, but in red and black.

    She conjures a golden bolt of light and launches it at the gunman's arm, then glides forward into the group of guards immediately around her, the spear snaking around wildly as it stabs this way and that in ways which should not be physically possible unless it was an extension of her own arm she was directly controlling with her mind.

    She pauses at Sailor Moon's sudden arrival, and a grin of utter delight crosses her face. "... I give that landing a thirty-six," she says, just because that was the most recent number she's seen in reference to any sort of score. "Out of ten," she quickly adds.

    Sailor Moon's speech doesn't get much attention, until she crushes a guy underfoot from above. The Figure in White chuckles. "Good execution, could use some work on the technique." The guard crumples and lets go of his sword, as he isn't wearing any heavy duty armour, just a quilted gambeson to catch arrows or knife stabs.

    Tonbokiri's display makes the guard freak out, letting go of the sword as it twists and buckles. He turns to run but gets run through by the spear. A second swordsman is about to attack, but recoils in horror as he sees his companion impaled so mercilessly. "Monsters... They're MONSTERS!"

    As Emily transforms and disables the Gunman, the remaining swordsmen all start to break ranks and flee.

    The White Robed figure lobs another dagger into the spine of one fleeing guard, then draws a dagger from a sheath at her hip and moves in to slit the throat of the other remaining swordsmen who's standing shocked, his resolve buckling as his comrades get torn to shreds in moments.

    As the last guard falls, White Robe sheaths her dagger and approaches. "You know how to handle yourselves. Unlike the last unfortunate group that fell foul of these, Bastardos." she says, spitting on one of the nearby corpses. "We should move, La Policia will come investigate soon and we do not want them to find us here." She stoops near Fancy Hat and removes a silver ring from his finger, depositing it in a pouch on her belt. "Come, I will take you somewhere safe for now."

    That's the last of them?
    --Of course, that's the last of them.
    Sailor Moon, to her credit, rallies quickly from her landing and picks herself right up. Though she cringes at White Robe's very direct means of dealing with that last guard.
    There's so much blood. Everywhere.
    Her knees a buckling. It's a wonder she doesn't collapse there and start crying right off the bat.
    "Buh..." Is all she manages for a beat, before clearing her throat.
    "R-right! Somewhere safe! That's good- right?"

    Tonbokiri is taken a bit aback by Emily's choice of weapon. But she can make different ones, that's right. She has shapeshifting abilities. He forgets sometimes that there are people who can do that!

    The force of Red Guards falls quickly, and Tonbokiri scans quickly for any more arrivals before retrieving the cap of his spear from Konnosuke and putting it where it belongs. The fox leaps back up upon his shoulder in the meantime.

    Looking to White Robe, he notes, "There have been others? These people are killing off-worlders? If so, this world may need to be deemed a threat to travelers." At least in his own world, anyway. The Time Government is keeping track of these things, after all. He is, however, prepared to follow White Robe, for now.

    Tonbokiri notes the unsteadiness of Sailor Moon's legs, and offers her a reassuring smile. "You did well," he replies, keeping his voice friendly. "Come, let us find some safety until we can escape from here."

    Emily nods agreeably to the guard who just called them monsters. "Finally, someone gets it!" she says brightly, flourishing her spear in a way which violates at least two of Newton's laws of motion. She doesn't bother to finish off the ones who are fleeing; but nor does she react to the the woman in white killing people while they're down.

    She raises her eyebrows as the woman snags the ring, grinning. "I was wondering what that signet ring was for!" she says. "... I mean, I'm still wondering, but, good to have it confirmed that it's significant."

    She nods to Tonbokiri. "I'll ... my world doesn't have any authority, but I'll warn the people there," she says, before she turns to the Heroine Of Love And Justice. Good, Tonbokiri's taking care of her so Emily doesn't need to figure out how to do that herself. "Sailor Moon, right?" she says. "Did you happen to see a blonde girl about your age running towards the Vines?" She pauses. "Kinda the same hairstyle as you, too, actually." She shrugs. "Uh, just wanna make sure she got to safety, in a ..." She makes a face. "... 'just met her five minutes ago' sort of way."

    (... It's a good thing Usagi has magical identity-protection, or else Emily would be making more direct wisecracks right about now.)

    And then her cheerfulness takes on a sharped tone as she turns back to their rescuer. "And speaking of safety," she says, "you do realize that the last people who wanted to bring us somewhere in this world just got done trying to kill us, right?" She gestures with her spear, and the shadows at her feet (which totally aren't just made of Vantablack nanomachines) swirl around her. "So, I'll follow ya, but I'm gonna ... leave the safeties off, if you take my meaning."

    "Piera. Piera Forta da Forli. Un Assassino Iniziato." The translation effect kicks in, giving everyone: Piera Forta of Forli. An Assassin Initiate.

    "I would not expect anything different, Senora." she remarks to Emily. "I will explain when we are off the streets. This way." she turns and indicates a side alleyway. "My Brothers and I have been trying to rescue those we can, but our numbers are stretched thin." she says as she leads a winding route through back alleyways and across an abandoned warehouse interior, before slipping inside what looks like... a brothel?

    "Matrona, I have some more guests who need shelter until nightfall." Piera calls, bringing an older matronly woman from behind a screen. "Matrona Lucratia, three more offworlders due for the graveyard. I have the bastardo's ring as proof he is dead." she produces two rings, and places them in the matron's open palm. "I will stay with you until nightfall. Once the police have changed shifts, we will go back to the vine and I will distract them for you to leave."

    The woman then, finally, doffs her hood, letting her short brown hair bounce free. "Let us take a room, I will answer what questions I am able."

    You know, Emily has the right of it, and Usagi-- nay Sailor Moon? She's going to keep her guard up after those guards tried to kill her- them. She wasn't with them. Totally. But the sailor senshi follows along quickly enough.
    "O-of course I did well, I'm a warrior of love and justice!" She huffs, still working on getting the adrenaline to fade.
    This has been a rough day. First she fails a test, then no cell phone, then people are actually getting killed all around her. Sailor Moon isn't having the best of times right now, okay?
    "Wait is this a- uh. I don't think I should be going in here, I'm only fourteen and uh--" nope into the brothel she goes, hands covering her eyes the whole way until-- White Robe reveales her face.
    So! Questions, then.
    "... Who are you exactly?" Wait that was already answered. "--And who were those guys trying to kill you all-- and WHY?"

    Tonbokiri nods. "We will need to track her down," he notes in response to Emily's mention of Usagi. "Hopefully she knows the way back to the Vine. Or if not, hopefully she knows how to hide." A pause, and he looks to the fox on his shoulder. "Konnosuke, can you scan the city for her? Bring her to us if you find her."

    Konnosuke gives an affirmative sound and hops off of Tonbokiri's shoulder, to run into the city as they follow Piera, as she introduces herself, to what he hopes is a safehouse.

    ...A brothel?

    Tonbokiri's eye twitches. But they are being given safety here, presumably. So, when they are brought before the matronly woman, Tonbokiri bows deeply to her. "Thank you for granting us sanctuary," he offers respectfully.

    He adds, "We have yet one more of our number who is not accounted for, a young girl with blonde hair much like hers." He indicates Sailor Moon. "The girl's name is Usagi Tsukino. She ran, hopefully for the Vine, when the guards attacked. Humbly I ask, could you keep your eyes on the streets open for her, in case she was not able to make it back to the Vine?"

    Sailor Moon starts asking the questions, and he looks to Piera for their answers. He has no idea what's going on here either!

    Emily considers telling Piera that she can create portals, thus bypassing the guards altogether, but she doesn't feel like showing all of her cards to someone she still thinks of as a potential threat.

    She laughs out loud at the sight of the apparent brothel. "Shit, no wonder they haven't found you yet," she says, attempting to drag Sailor Moon and Tonbokiri in with her. "But yeah. Nice ta meetcha!" With a wave of her hand, she conjures up holograms identifying the three of them: EMILY NYX - A Eudaemon Slave Born After The Masters All Died, TONBOKIRI - Man of the Spear, Spear of Men, and SAILOR MOON - The Hero.

    She nods to Sailor Moon and Tonbokiri in turn. "My question," she says, "is: are you the good guys, or the bad guys? And are our attackers bad guys, or worse guys?"

    ... Emily Nyx does not have a very mature or complicated view of morality.

    "A long story, I will try to be concise. They were agents of a group of people, tracing their lineage back to ancient times. We know them as Templars. They are insidious, and worm their way into positions of political power to change the world to one they control." replies Piera. "The Assassins have fought against them for as long as we have records of the conflict, we fight to keep the common people free."

    She looks between Sailor Moon and Tonbokiri, giving Sailor Moon a very serious inspection with her brown eyes... wait, did they turn golden for a moment? Must have been a trick of the light. "La Matrona will guide the girl home her streetwalkers are allies of the Brotherhood."

    Emily asks a question, and Piera quirks a brow. "Simple world view..." she clears her throat. "The answer depends on who you ask. The Brotherhood doesn't go out killing innocent people because they took a wrong turn and ended up where they weren't meant to be." she replies. "The Templar, as you saw, are very quick to snuff out potential problems to their neat little world order. So, to put it simply. The Brotherhood are the good guys, and the Templars are the worst guys."

    Oh right. What ABOUT that Usagi Tsukino girl?
    Sailor Moon's poker face is absolutely legendary when asked about Usagi. Partly because she's more concerned with being a minor in a brothel at the moment. Even if it is cover for a hidden order of secretive assassinos. She's totally not sweating when Piera gives her That Look.
    "O-oh right um! I saw a girl-- matching that EXACT description-- she made it through the Vine yep that's totally what happened."
    And then she gets a hologram intro card, like something right out of Borderlands. "Huh..." That's pretty cool.
    AHEM.
    She listens to Piera.
    So Assassins are good guys, Templars are bad guys, that's a very simple way of putting it.
    "--That's terrible!" She says, frowning deeply. Super terrible because that's EXACTLY what happened. Usagi took a wrong turn!

    Emily's 'intro card' for him gets a chuckle. "Thank you, Emily," he offers, wih a nod. Looking to Piera, he confirms, "I am indeed Tonbokiri, treasured spear of Tadakatsu Honda."

    But also? 'Other sight' would reveal something weird about Tonbokiri. Or rather, about the weapon he carries. Whatever way Tonbokiri appears in Piera's 'other sight'... the blade of the spear will share the same qualities. It registers as a living being, not merely as an object, and shares the exact qualities Tonbokiri does. As if it's literally another part of him.

    Tonbokiri bows his head as Piera assures that if Usagi's there they'll keep her safe. "Thank you," he offers respectfully. He remains quiet as she explains what's going on with those guards.

    Though at the mention of the Templars being 'the worst guys', he notes, "Foolish as well. Outsiders bring possibility as well as problems. To mark all as the latter is folly. Were they truly concerned with improving their world, they would try to work with their new dimensional 'neighbors', to ensure peace. Besides, when not harassed, other worlds would be more willing to share technology, which could surely benefit the people."

    Sailor Moon speaks up then, regarding 'Usagi'. "Oh, did she?" Tonbokiri inquires. "That is a relief," he sighs, slumping briefly. And then he nods. "It is indeed," he notes, to Sailor Moon's words. "Aruji would likely wish to know of this struggle -- if only to see what threat these Templars may be to our world."

    Emily nods thoughtfully. She certainly didn't miss that golden flicker, either. "Well, that reasoning is sound, if you can be trusted," she says. "But Sailor Moon and Tobokiri are right. They almost murdered a defenseless fourteen-year-old, so I'm sure as hell not gonna mistake 'em for good guys." Sailor Moon's stuttering over the subject is ... slightly worrying. But she doesn't think the girl has any reason to lie; in Emily's limited scans, she seems reasonably human, in a mundane way. Hmm ... maybe Usagi knows Sailor Moon's secret identity, and that makes Sailor Moon nervous? Doesn't seem to be an issue right this minute, either way.

    Besides, Emily notices that golden flicker in Piera's eyes. She doesn't quite know what to make about it. "This world is definitely interesting!" she says. "I doubt I'll be bored here. Reapplying Capacitor Seal 3!" The gold and pearlescent auras fade back in, and the silver one reconstructs itself, before all three fade away again; the shadows disappear, and the spear dematerializes again.

    Piera makes no comments on what she may or may not see, instead she nods to Sailor Moon. "I will ask La Matrona to keep her eyes open regardless. Information is the most potent of weapons in a war of ideologies." she makes a sharp whistle, and one of the brothel girls scampers over with a book and some writing implements. "Thank you Sadia."

    Piera then opens the book, and begins to rapidly write out what she knows of the Templars. She tries to be as objective about it as possible. Information dissemination is key to how their network functions.

    "The Brotherhood has a simple creed. Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted. A complexity held in simplicity, or that is what the Maestro tell me when I ask." She finishes writing, pulls the pages from the book and offers the small sheif to Tonbokiri. "This is all I know of the Templar." she states, before looking back to Emily. "Trust is a rare and valuable commodity, Signora. I would not expect anyone to part with it so readily."

    Yep. YEP. Usagi made it to the Vine safe and sound. Hopefully no one questions Sailor Moon about this further because she's not sure how much longer she can effectively bluster any more BS about her alter ego escaping. Not that Usagi Tsukino is her alter ego or anything! That's just preposterous.
    Though she does lean over to try and read over Tonbokiri's shoulder, she glances up-- and raises her hand like a schoolgirl.
    'Cause she's kind of a schoolgirl. "Right! So! When do we get to go back to the Vine again?"
    Yep.

    Tonbokiri gives an affirmative sound to Emily's words. "No one who would do such a thing will have my allegiance. Nor that of Aruji, I am certain," he notes, of the whole 'trying to murder a defenseless teenager' debaucle.

    Accepting the sheaf of paper from Piera, the Touken Danshi offers a nod. "Thank you. I will give these to the Time Government to examine," he replies. "And thank you for the warning, as well. We would have been in a great deal more trouble had you not been there."

    He doesn't comment about the creed, but he will be thinking about it. And will probably bring word of it back to his world.

    Usagi's question gets a tilts of his head. "Likely after nightfall," he notes. "We can move about more easily under cover of darkness. Worry not, we will be able to leave soon."

    Emily glances over Tonbokiri's shoulder. "I'll have to get a copy of that, too," she says.

    She smirks at Piera's comment about trust. "Yeah, I understand that," she says. "Clashing ideologies, friends turning out to be not who you thought they were, people getting one over on you ... you're preaching to the choir, son!" She pauses, and furrows her brow. "Or ... not 'son'." Her smirk returns. "But rest assured! There's eyes in the back of my head, when needed. And they are good eyes, to boot!"

    Now, if only her conclusions were better.